Facebook Continues to Prep Advertisers, Developers, Partners for iOS 14 Updates

The social network Tuesday released Facebook Platform SDK (software development kit) version 9.0, which included additional features, as well as required actions in order to ensure that apps remain integrated with the platform.

Developers using versions 8.2 or below of the Android, iOS or Unity SDKs must begin migrating to version 9.0, as those older SDKs will be deprecated.

Facebook said that moving forward, all new major versions will target annual releases with the aim of aligning the SDK version number with the latest version of Graph API (application-programming interface), although minor updates will continue to be released in order to enhance the functionality of its SDKs.

The social network will also end support for the React Native wrapper around its Android and iOS SDKs, and it is removing the auto-initialization feature for its SDKs.

Facebook introduced a Limited Login mode for Facebook Login in order to implement safeguards to prevent the fact that a person used Facebook to login to an iOS app from being used to target advertising to that person or measure its effectiveness.

Limited Login enables users of apps to create new accounts or access existing accounts while only sharing their names, profile pictures and, optionally, email addresses.

Developers can choose either Limited Login or classic Facebook Login uniformly for all users or conditionally, and the modes are interoperable.

Facebook shared the following actions that must be taken by app advertisers and developers, which must upgrade to Audience Network SDK v6.2.1 in order to monetize with iOS 14 users when that operating system is updated:

• Advertisers that work with mobile measurement partners and do not use the SDK should check with those MMPs for more information on integrating with Facebook to support SKAdNetwork.
• Those that use the SDK should have the latest version in order to be able to optimize for app events, mobile app installs plus events or value.
• Starting Tuesday, advertisers can confiture the SKAdNetwork conversion schema in Events Manager to measure and optimize for those objectives.
• Advertisers can now set up and test SKAdNetwork-based app install campaigns in Ads Manager and via the API.
• The account-level attribution window will be replaced with a new attribution setting accessible during campaign creation at the ad set level, with settings defaulting to seven-day click and one-day view, which may lead to a decrease in reported conversions.
• Advertisers that use the App Events API and do not use Facebook SDK to support SKAdNetwork API must properly implement SKAdNetwork through Events Manager.
• The social network described its new Resource Center in a blog post: “We are launching Resource Center, a dedicated tab in Ads Manager with a customized checklist of tasks to guide you through actions you can take in order to ensure that your advertising is set up optimally and prepare for the upcoming impact of iOS 14 requirements. The Resource Center will provide a list of relevant updates summarizing how iOS 14 requirements may impact your specific ad account. Most tasks and updates will link to Help Center articles to further support you through these changes.”

Facebook’s tasks for mobile web advertisers and partners are:

• Advertisers can now view all of their events through the new Aggregated Event Measurement and Pixel/Conversions API tabs in Events Manager. The former will provide information on events processed using aggregated event measurement, while the latter includes all other web events.
• Advertisers must verify their domain names in Business Manager.
• Advertisers should limit themselves to eight conversion events per domain.
• Delivery value optimization will transition from Ads Manager to Events Manager, and value sets must be enabled. They will be automatically assigned based on historical data and turned on in Events Manager for advertisers that have previously used value optimization. There is a maximum of eight value sets.
• Performance and audience sizes may decrease for dynamic ads for retargeting. Advertisers should verify product URL domains in their catalog feeds and avoid using URLs that redirect users to different domains. Only one pixel per catalog should be used to optimize for prioritized conversion events across all catalog items.
• The account level attribution window will be replaced with a new attribution setting at the ad set level accessed during campaign creation, ensuring that the conversions measured by Facebook are the same ones that inform campaign optimization, allowing for increased clarity when analyzing ad performance.
• Statistical modeling will be used for certain attribution windows and/or metrics to account for less data availability from iOS 14 users.
• Certain attribution windows will have partial reporting, and metrics will not include all events from iOS 14 users. In-product annotation will communicate when a metric is partial. This will launch in early 2021 upon Apple’s enforcement of its ATT prompt.
• Delivery and action breakdowns will not be supported for offsite conversion events. Offsite conversion events will be reported based on the time the conversions occur and not the time of ad impressions, which may cause small fluctuations in cost metrics, as cost per conversion will reflect spend over a given period divided by conversions that took place over the same period, whereas today, cost per conversion reflects spend over a given period divided by conversions driven by ad impressions that took place over the same period.
• Attribution window settings for existing and newly created automated rules will no longer be supported, and a default window of seven-day click-through for non-iOS conversions and the SKAdNetwork window for iOS conversions will be implemented.
• Advertisers should specify their attribution window changes and leverage the Comparing Windows feature to see how conversions attributed to ads compare across different attribution windows.